Interchangeable button



Nov. 11, 1958 G. PERO INTERCHANGEABLE BUTTON Filed June 27, 1955 INVENTOR.

- GLADYS PERO BY 5 AYI'JfiA/E'? I United States Patent INTERCHANGEABLE BUTTON Gladys Pero, Bronx, N. Y.

Application June 27, 1955, Serial No. 518,062

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-97) This invention relates to buttons and like fastening elements for garments and, more particularly, to an interchangeable button that can be used on any desired garment and removed from said garment after use.

, As distinguished from buttons stitched to or otherwise permanently attached to garments, the button according to the present invention is wholly removable from any garment, such as a blouse or jacket, with which it is associated, and hence promotes use of the button as a decorative means that adds measurably to the attractiveness of ones attire, permitting, in fact, different buttons to be used at different times on the same garment. Thus, ones wardrobe is seemingly increased, through the selective use of different buttons of eye-catching, attractive form, size, coloring, and ornamentation.

Among important objects, other than those to be inferred from the foregoing paragraphs, are the following:

To facilitate the attachment and detachment of the button;

To permit manufacture of the button at relatively low cost;

To provide a button that will be durable, and will be eflicient in operation; and

To insure against damage to the garment during attachment, detachment, and use of the button.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a button formed according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the button adjusted for attachment to or detachment from the garment.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, still further enlarged, on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a detent included in the button, per se.

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 3 of a modification.

Fig. 8 is a view of the modified form as seen from the line 8--8 of Fig. 7.

The button constituting the invention includes a head 10 which can be of any shape or size, the shape illustrated being merely one example of a shape that might be used.

An elongated, tubular casing 12 of rectangular cross section has at its upper end upwardly projecting, inwardly bent, pointed leaf spring prongs 14 adapted to engage the back loop 10 of head 10. A pair of depending, straight arms 16, having rounded lower ends 18, are integral with the lower end of the casing at opposite sides thereof, and have along their longitudinal edges inwardly bent guide flanges 20. Carried by and extending between the lower 2,859,501 Patented Nov. 11, 1958 ends of the arms is a pivot pin 22 extending through a transverse opening formed in the midlength part of a lock bar 24 having a shallow concavity 26 in one of its ends and an arcuate shallow recess 28 medially between its ends. At the opposite end a piercing point 25 is provided for passing the lock bar 24 through a garment or fabric.

A detent 30 includes an elongated stem rigid at its lower end with a head 32 having a convexly curved bottom face 33. A spring 34 is held under compression between the detent head 32 and the button head 10 and normally urges the detent in the direction of the lock bar. The flanges 20 guide the detent during its movement.

A piece of fabric F, which may be part of any garment to which the button is to be attached, has an opening for the button and when the button is to be attached thereto, the lock bar 24 will be in the Fig. 3 position thereof. In this position of the bar, it is aligned longitudinally with the casing and thus the casing can be readily extended through the opening of the fabric.

When the lock bar is thus inoperatively disposed, it is engaged releasably by the detent. The detent at this time is retracted in the casing against the restraint of the spring, with its head 32 seated in the concavity 26.

After the casing has been inserted, the lock bar is grasped and is swung in a clockwise direction about its pivot axis. As soon as the lock bar is swung out of its vertical position a short distance, the spring 34, now free to expand, will cause the detent to exert a cam action against that side surface of the bar having the recess 28, and will snap the bar into a perpendicular relationship to the length of the casing. As the bar moves into this position, shown in Fig. 2, the detent engages in recess 28 to hold the bar in its locking position. The button will now be held in the fabric.

When the button is to be removed, the bar is swung back to its vertical position, and will cam the detent upwardly until ultimately, the detent snaps into the adjacent concavity 26 to latch the bar in its inoperative position, ready for passing the piercing point 25 through the fabric.

The pointed leaf spring prongs 14 are provided with inner cam surfaces 14' and 15 and a spreader member 16' is provided inside the prongs 14 disposed for sliding movement against the cam surfaces. A handle 17 extends from the spreader member 16 out an opening 18' in one of the prongs. Spring 34 abuts and bears against the spreader member 16 normally to bias it against the cam surfaces 14' to keep the prongs 14 closed around the back loop 10 of the button 10. Movement of the spreader member 16 against the spring and against the cam surfaces 15 opens the prongs 14 and releases the button head 10.

In the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8, means is provided to disengage the bar from the detent when the bar is in its inoperative, vertical position, from a location adjacent the button head 10, that is, from the outside of the garment. All parts are identical to those of the first form, except that the casing 12 is formed at one sidewith transversely spaced, apertured ears 36, between which extends a hinge pin 38 passing through a sleeve 40 formed on one end of a finger 42 extending downwardly along the casing and terminating at its lower, free end in a lip 44 resting against the upper end portion of the lock bar.

The user, to unlatch the bar, presses inwardly on the finger adjacent the sleeve 40 thereof, and this exerts a lateral pressure on the bar, the finger and bar moving to the dotted line position of Fig. 7. This movement of the bar is suflicient to free the detent for downward movement, and the detent, as in the first form, now snaps the bar to its operative position.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desired to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

An interchangeable button comprising a button head of disc-shaped form, a closed looped member depending therefrom, an elongated tubular casing detachably connected to said looped member, a locking bar pivotally mounted in the casing to swing between a first, in operative position in which it is aligned longitudinally with the casing, and a second, operative position normal to the length of the casing, and detent means shiftable longitudinally of the casing and releasably engaging the bar in each of the two positions of the bar to hold the same in said positions, said detent means including a detent having a bar-engaging head and a shank extending from the head within the casing, and a spring encircling the shank and held under compression between the detent head and button head, the connection between the casing and looped member including opposed leaf spring prongs integral with the top end of the casing and normally in overlapping relation and extending through the looped member in interlocking relation therewith, a movable spreader member mounted in the casing for spreading said leaf spring prongs apart, and a laterally extending handle on the spreader member for moving the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 622,201 Brassington Apr. 4, 1899 641,565 Wheeler Ian. 16, 1900 1,333,228 Stuart Mar. 9, 1920 1,721,356 Schulz July 16, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS 475,279 Great Britain Nov. 17, 1937 638,398 France Feb. 20, 1928 1,033,531 France Apr. 1, 1953 

